AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I frowned, “Nothing we can use.”
“Damn,” he said, shoulder against the door frame of my office.
I crossed the lush carpet and sat down at my desk, leaning back to stare at the ceiling.
“We need a break, Brent.”
“I know. Thought we had one after the Dragons’ girls got grabbed, but since then….” his voice trailed off.
“Radio silence,” I finished for him.
“A week ago, this office was rolling in women. Now we can’t pay one to say a word,” he complained.
I shrugged, “Most hookers are conditioned early on that it’s not in their best interest to talk.”
“So what’s next?” Brent asked.
“We keep doing what we’re doing. We’ll get a bite. There’s too much heat on the street not to.”
“Got it,” Brent agreed on a nod before turning for his own office further down the hall.
Once Brent was gone, I looked around my own space. It was all sunlight and wood and smelled like leather and furniture polish.
My degrees lined one wall, and photos of Stella and Lucky decorated a bookcase.
Lucky wearing jeans and his cut, straddling his Harley, the grin playing along his lips a mirror of his father’s.
Stella at prom last year in a pink floor length formal with flowers in her hair. My little hippie.
I pulled open the top right drawer of my desk and glanced inside.
Gate stared back.
It wasn’t a photo I’d taken.
It wasn’t a party I’d attended.
It was a snapshot I’d seen on Stella’s phone, and I’d printed myself a copy.
The look in Gate’s eyes was all love and affection.
A look not directed at me in years.
But I could pretend. And for a few moments get lost in the us that we used to be.
I liked who I was with Gate. A lot more than who I was now. But I’d raised two great kids, and I’d done a lot of good, so maybe in the end, it was enough.
At least that’s what I told myself as I closed the drawer and went back to work.
*************************
Stash and Rooster
Game of Thronesvied withHarry Potteron two opposing Bang and Olufsen Beovision screens whileThe BachelorandPokémonstreamed on the Mac Pros not in use for satellite surveillance and deep web research.
Stash leaned back in the gaming chair he used more like a commando post and rubbed a hand across his Slytherin tee shirt.
Rooster scrolled through the web search while he texted Gabby, an MIT grad and local college professor, his latest Baby Yoda joke.
